AT&T ended 2011 on a down note, posting a massive, $6.7 billion loss in the fourth quarter due largely to a change in how it accounts for its employee pension benefits and the breakup fee it was required to pay after scrapping its bid to buy T-Mobile USA. The Dallas telecommunications giant posted a fourth-quarter …

If indie bands can dress like Fleetwood Mac circa 1975, and women in New York City can sport leg warmers like “Flashdance” extras, why can’t Samsung bring back the stylus pen for tablets and smartphones? It seems like the company just might try to revive this old trend, much like those indie rockers and fashionable hipsters of New York City …

After Apple’s historic holiday quarter, Wall Street analysts (for the most part) are champing at the bit to raise predictions for AAPL, citing overwhelmingly strong iPhone and iPad sales last year and high expectations for new product releases this year. Screenshot by Joe Aimonetti According to a report by The Apple Blog, several analysts think Apple is still on the …

Change is never easy. Just ask Nokia, which today posted its third consecutive quarter of hefty losses, despite strong sales of its new Windows Phone portfolio. In the fourth quarter, the Finnish handset maker said it lost 1.07 billion euros, or $1.4 billion. During the same period a year ago, the company posted a 745 euro profit. Overall handset sales …

Fingers crossed for the Samsung Galaxy S3? Stand by to be disappointed: reports suggest it’s not turning up in the next month as expected. The S3, the expected follow-up to the hugely popular Samsung Galaxy S2, won’t be among the swathe of new phones announced in February at Mobile World Congress, the traditional launchpad of the year’s new mobiles, according …

Motorola Mobility swung to a fourth-quarter loss thanks largely to expenses related to the pending takeover by Google. The mobile devices and set-top box maker reported a loss of $80 million, or 27 cents a share, mirroring a year-earlier profit of $80 million, or 27 cents a share. Revenue rose slightly to $3.44 billion. Excluding its merger-related costs, charges taken …

As smartphone shipments continued to surge throughout 2011, Apple reclaimed its chief position as the No. 1 smartphone vendor in the fourth quarter, according to research firm Strategy Analytics. Numbers are rounded Strategy Analytics Throughout various countries, using dozens of operators, the iPhone family overtook Samsung with 24 percent of the market share in the fourth quarter. During this time, …

commentary The birth of the Motorola Droid Razr Maxx‘s extra-large battery may have been unintended, but it shouldn’t have been. Motorola’s stars aligned, CNET learned, when an engineer began experimenting with a thicker, but more muscular battery than what’s in the original Droid Razr. Moto’s CEO Sanjay Jha loved it, Verizon came around, and as a result, the Droid Razr …

90 per cent of iPhone buyers rejected a bargain, instead seduced by the iPhone 4S — despite the fact it’s so similar to the previous model. Which leads us to ask: are we blindly addicted to the latest, shiniest thing even when it’s not the sensible option? A new study by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners breaks down iPhone sales, and …

Prada, sweetie! The LG Prada Phone toe-to-heels down the mobile runway and into phone shops tomorrow. The Android-powered high-fashion phone hits the high street, going on sale at Phones4U stores and online, for delivery before the end of the month. It’s been a while since LG’s had a hit phone — could the officially named Prada Phone by LG 3.0 …